Passed the End
by Seventy-Eight
Summary: Having survived the murders of Rokkenjima, Battler, Rosa, Maria and Ange must now pick up the pieces of their broken lives. Collab with Icura.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We do not own Umineko or any of the characters. All of the characters belong to Ryukushi 07.

Passed the End by Icura and Seventy-Eight

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"That will be all for now." The police offer stated simply as he adjusted his tie. The cigarette he had been smoking was burning close to the filter now, though he made no attempt to switch for a new one. "We will contact you if we find out any more during out investigation."

"I see. Thank you." Rosa's expression had not changed since the first interrogation she was subjected to; her eyes were droopy and dark bags hung under them. Surviving the serial murders had taken much out of her. "If you will excuse me…"

"Of course." The officer took one last drag before snuffing out the cigarette. His expression lightened as he looked at the document she had been going over while the kids were being talked to by other officers. He frowned at that, one kid seemed to be in a perpetual fantasy and the other had broken down. Not surprising though as he had seen the parents' corpses. "If there is anything I could help you with, just ask, miss."

"I'll be fine, thank you." She rose sharply, gathering the pages of the document into a small folder. A thin and very fake smile locked on her face, she nodded to the police officer as she walked out of the room. The two other survivors sat outside, waiting and watching silently as she walked towards them, away from the bleak walls of the interrogation room. "Battler, Maria. Come on, we're going."

"Uu~"

"Well, Auntie Rosa, I wish I could say it was nice to see you, but with things being the way they are." Battler smiled, though, she could tell his eyes were red from crying. Maria on the other hand seemed calm; though she seemed somewhat bewildered. She wasn't even wearing the crown that normally adorned her head. "I hope your luck changes after this. Wouldn't want any more days like that, hihihi."

"I think we will be seeing a lot more of each other, Battler." Rosa smiled tiredly. She pulled the documents from out of the folder.

The sides of Battler mouth turned down for a moment. "I don't think this is a good idea, Auntie."

"Battler…"

"Auntie, I can take care of Angie. I'm almost an adult already." Battler smiled as brightly as he could, even in this sad aftermath. "You have your own life to get back to and I have mine. Don't worry about us—"

Rosa slapped Battler's cheek. "Why shouldn't I worry?"

Battler gawked at Rosa, not just because of his stinging cheek, but also because of the emotions that she was now displaying. The stern calm that had encompassed her mannerism was now shattered. "Auntie…"

Rosa hugged him. "Only one of us needs to be strong."

"You're wrong, Auntie." Battler pushed her away. His expression had darkened.

Rosa's eyes narrowed angrily. "What's so wrong about that?"

"Please. Leave me alone. " Battler turned around to leave, but Rosa couldn't let it end like this. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around.

"You're not the only one in pain."

"What would you know? You didn't lose anyone!" Battler, upon seeing Rosa's pained face, regretted his words almost immediately.

Rosa's stern expression returned as she released his shoulder. "Do you really mean that?"

"It's better this way." Battler turned around to leave once again. However, he was impeded again when he felt arms encircle him from behind. He softly touched those hands. "Let go."

Rosa remembered the lonely days as the youngest child of the family. Bullied and left alone just because she was weak. Her lonely, never-ending days with Maria, devoid of the warmth of family and filled with problems, continued to haunt her. Her hands tightened around Battler. "I won't"

"Let go." Battler tried to pry the hands from his body, but he couldn't. As if they were steel, Rosa's fingers wouldn't budge. Why? Shouldn't he be stronger?

"It's okay."

"This doesn't make sense." Battler tried more frantic to pull her off.

"You're not alone."

"It's useless, it's all useless." That's when Battler noticed that his hands were shaking. For the first time, he could feel his resolve crumbling. He had promised himself that he would be strong. That he wouldn't let Ange down. So then…why…why…?

Why was he crying?

"You don't have to go through this alone. Ange doesn't have to go through this alone."

"We'll just be a burden." Battler bowed his head slightly. "We have our own lives and our own problems to deal with."

Rosa's resolve wavered. Did she really want to take two more children under her care? She was a horrible mother as it is so did she really want more weight on her? However, when she felt Battler's tears fell on her hands, her mind was set. "They're my problems too."

Battler shook his head. "They aren't."

"You and Ange are under my guardianship."

"We can still just live separately."

"I won't allow it."

"Auntie, I know you mean well, but—"

"Battler, everything will be fine. You can rely on me."

Battler fell limp in Rosa's grasp. As much as he wanted to fight this, he was tired. The deaths had sapped his strength and willpower, and as much as he would like to deny it, it was too much for him to handle. No, it was more like he wasn't sure he can handle it alone. The future, which once seemed so clear, was now shrouded in a darkness that scared him. He didn't want to burden other people, but he didn't have the strength anymore to fight for his conviction.

For her part, Rosa held him to her comfortingly with arms weighed with the burden of a harsh life and a body wrecked with the betrayals that she had faced in the past. A body that had received a comforting embrace. Deep in her heart, she was jealous that he was now receiving what she never had.

But Rosa was strong. So these emotions along with her sadness were buried within her, under iron-clad barriers. Her decision to support these two orphaned children…was this misguided pity or sympathy? She didn't know. "Come live with me and Maria."

Battler's hands, now steady, carefully pried off Rosa's hands. She didn't resist and watched in silence. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his suit, he turned to Maria, who was staring up at him almost bewilderedly, and rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "Hihihihi, looks like we'll be even closer."

"Uuu, closer?" Maria tilted her head.

"Yep, looks like I am mooching off of you, so take good care of me~"

"Uu! Going to take good care of Battler!"

Rosa slowly smiled as she watched the two of them; it was good to see that he finally accepted her judgment and that they could at least act like the murders never happened. "I'm sure you will, and remember to take care of Maria too, Battler."

"Of course, who do you take me for? My dad?" The moment his words left his mouth he knew they were the wrong things to say. He winced at his comment, silently cursing his impulsive nature. Rosa didn't look much better, whatever good mood they had been building seemed to crumble with the off hand joke. "Sor—"

"Let's just get this over with, mh?" Rosa had seemed to recover, her smile returning, though much more strained than before. Both Battler and Maria nodded slowly. "Good, we should go get Ange then."

"Uu, Ange is going to visit?"

"Not just visit, Maria, live with you too."

"Uuu! Crowded."

Battler laughed and smiled down at Maria. "It will be a bit awkward, but don't worry, Maria. We will try not to impose on you too much."

"I'm not worried about Ange being a problem; you on the other hand…" Rosa patted Battler on the back as she began walking away. Battler's mouth slipped into a frown, and his eyebrows shot up as he hurried Maria along to catch up to her mother.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The drive to the home where Ange was staying was not a long one; though to each of the occupants, it felt like one of the longest trips they have ever made. Battler's brow was furrowed, his entire being devoted to the sole purpose of figuring out how to break the news to Ange. Maria couldn't wait to see her friend again, while Rosa's thoughts were more in line of what would come after.

She had felt a sinking feeling ever since she turned in the papers for guardianship. She could tell they didn't really trust her; she knew that damn agent was spreading rumors about her. Gutless coward.

Stepping out of the car, the three stood in front of a three-story house. It was a nice neighborhood with plenty of small gardens, but it was nothing like the massive mansion on Rokkenjima with its vast fields of exotic flowers. Even considering how it modest it seemed, devoid of the eccentrics of the rich, Rosa couldn't help but feel annoyance at the sight. It reminded her all too well of how much better Rudolf's life was than hers. While they lived in this nice home, she and Maria had to struggle with a small, rented apartment.

Her father only gave out money to his children for investments. She had gotten the cash to start up her clothing business, but that was the first and last time that she was able to receive anything from Kinzo. No matter how much she had begged, pleaded, and cried, he turned her away without a second thought. It was all over now, but she could not get over the lingering feelings that she had or the brutality of the relationship that she had with her siblings and her father. She tried to dispel her thoughts as she walked up the cemented path.

For Battler, the steps towards the door were the hardest distance that he has had to cross. Each footstep towards his home was like a knife stabbed through his heart as he imagined a different reaction that Ange would have at his news. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to run away. Yet, the moment that he stopped, he saw Rosa and Maria stepping ahead, leaving him behind without noticing. And that frightened him. As if connected to them by a rope, he felt himself dragged forward in their path.

Up ahead of Battler, Maria was skipping along the path alongside her mother. She was simply happy that she would get to see her old friend. As she looked up her mother, she took her hand. It had been a long while since she could simply enjoy the pleasures of being beside her mother.

Tension strained Rosa's hand as she reached forward and pressed the doorbell. After a short while, an elderly woman answered the door. "Hello. Oh, Battler, it's good to see you again. Where are your parents? And who are these two guests with you?"

"Uuu, I'm Maria."

"Maria? Oh! Then this must be your mother, Rosa. Please excuse my improper behavior. I am the maid of this household. A pleasure to meet you both. Ange spoke quite a bit about you, Maria."

Maria nodded enthusiastically; though, Rosa's reaction was far worse. Her mouth tightened into a thin line. Battler smiled awkwardly as he approached the elderly woman. "I….don't know how to say this...but…um…"

"They were murdered." Rosa was void of emotion as she said this, her eyes staring sternly at the maid. The elderly woman gasped slightly, her hand covering her mouth as she regarded Battler and Rosa.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, nothing you could have done to prevent it." Battler waved off her concern; a small lonely smile plastered on his face.

"Still…"

"It's fine. We're here to take Ange to her new home. I'll pay you for everything you have done so far." Turning to Maria, her expression changed almost instantly to a happier one. "Why don't you go and take Battler to go see his sister, okay, Maria?"

"Uuu, going."

Battler smiled apologetically at the elderly woman as he walked past her. She, in turn, gave a bright smile that seemed to smooth out her face, before turning back to what seemed like death itself to him. "I'm going, I'm going. We'll be back down soon, okay, so try not to let Rosa crush you."

Rosa chuckled humorlessly as she forced Battler to go get Ange. The elderly nanny had told them that Ange was resting in her room. With that objective in mind, the halfway grim and halfway cheery duo's march to the room had brought some melancholy feelings to Battler's chaotic emotions, though he hoped that he would be able to keep his cool in front of Ange.

"Ange…" Battler rapped his knuckles against the wooden door; in response a voice called out for them to come in. As they entered, they noticed Ange sitting up in her bed, idly reading a small book. Ange looked up at them and opened her mouth in surprise.

"Battler! Maria!" Ange jumped up from her bed as Maria ran up and hugged her. She was more than happy; she had expected that Battler would be back but with Maria too? The joy that filled her heart was practically bursting at the seams.

However, this had only stung Battler even more. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news; the person that will see a gentle and pure heart laid to waste by sadness. He knew that he had to, but the moment that he opened his mouth, no words came out. Ange let go of Maria to give Battler a hug when she noticed his expression.

"Something wrong, big brother?" When Battler didn't reply, Ange walked up to him and hugged his waist by standing on her tiptoes. "Pain, pain, go away. Come again another day."

It was a childish spell. A recitation of words that really meant nothing, but Battler wanted so much to believe in those words. However, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't believe in its magic. Still, he gave his half-sister a smile and patted her head. "Thanks. It works."

Ange smiled happily. "Mommy taught me that."

Battler couldn't imagine the serious Kyrie teaching fantasy to someone, even if it was her own daughter. It was almost comical in a sense. However, he regretted thinking of Kyrie so negatively like that. He cast his eyes downward "She did, did she now?"

Ange nodded enthusiastically. "She'll be so proud."

Battler bit his lip. He struggled against himself to say the words, however, before he could, Maria chirped up. "Uuu, uuu, Ange going to live with Maria!"

"Yay!" Ange started hopping up and down, but quickly stopped as a question entered her young mind. "Is mommy, daddy, and big brother coming? I don't want to go if they aren't coming."

"Ange…" Battler gritted his teeth. "I'm coming with you, but they…they aren't coming."

"Then I don't wanna go."

Maria shook her head. "Uuu, you have to."

"I don't wanna!"

Battler bent down and pressed his hands gently on Ange's shoulder so that they were looking eye to eye. "They aren't coming back here either."

Ange looked confused. "Where did they go?"

A dark smirk appeared on Maria's face. "The Golden Land."

"Maria, enough!" Battler narrowed his eyes at Maria. The girl, for her part, decided to back off and start playing with the toys in the room. He turned his attention back to Ange. "They are gone. Forever."

"What's the golden land? Did they go there? Then I want to go there too!"

"Ange, forget what Maria said. That doesn't exist."

"But if mommy and daddy are there and it doesn't exist, does that mean they don't exist?"

"Ange, Ange!" Battler inadvertently pressed down harder on the little girl's shoulders. "Listen to me carefully. They had an accident and…they're gone. They aren't coming back. It's just you and me now."

"Uuu, me too!"

"Rosa and Maria will be with us as well."

Ange looked startled for a second, but then she started laughing.

"Ange…?"

"So when will mommy and daddy be back?"

Battler hugged the little girl to his chest. "They're not coming back."

"Yes, they are. I'll wait here and they'll come back."

"They aren't coming back."

"They are!"

"Ange, Ange. They're gone."

"Stop teasing me!" Even though Ange said that, her voice was breaking up. "They're coming back. They're coming back!"

"Ange…"

Ange pounded her hands on Battler's chest again and again. "Stop lying. Stop lying!"

"It's going to be okay."

Those words, more than anything else, pierced her. Ange began to cry.

"I'm here for you, Ange. I'm not going to leave you." Battler cradled the back of Ange's head with one hand, pressing her against him as the tears fell down on his suit.

Maria watched the scene detachedly. She felt out of place, but she wanted reach out to them. To join their group. To be accepted in their circle of outcasts.

Of those who were not accepted into the Golden Land.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Battler stepped into the living room with a quiet Maria closely following behind. Cradled in his arms was Ange, who was slumbering with tear-stained cheeks. In the room, Rosa sat alone under the dim light of a single lamp. A cup of tea was laid out on the table, but it was left untouched and had long ago gone cold.

"Auntie, where's the maid?" Battler asked in a quiet tone.

"I sent her home. She left the house key with me." Rosa rose from her seat and lifted a key ring with several keys on it. She walked over to Battler and reached out her arms. "I will take Ange. Take any items you want and lock up the house."

Battler nodded and gently handed over the sleeping girl to Rosa. Taking the key, he took a look around the room. It was the house that he had lived in for all his life. Memories, both good and bad, flooded through him. It was the nexus of his life, but for some reason, he could not think of a thing to take with him. However, immediately afterwards, he retracted that thought. His eyes fell upon a framed photo.

He reached out his hand and picked it up. It was a photo of Ange's fifth birthday. Ange was riding on top of his shoulders while Kyrie and Rudolf were standing to the right of him. They were in front of the house, smiling brightly. Joyously. Carelessly. But then he noticed something on his father and his wife. He brought the picture closer so he could see it better.

Blood stains over Rudolf's forehead and Kyrie's chest.

Battler dropped the picture. The frame slammed into the ground and its glass cover shattered over the carpet. Ange stirred in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. Rosa gave him an annoyed stare as he raised an apologetic hand. He picked up the frame, shaking the leftover glass shards off of it. "This is all I'm going to take. I'm ready."

Rosa nodded and walked out through the front door with Maria swiftly following behind. Battler followed slowly after them. He stared down at the picture frame in his hand. The blood spots were gone. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he stepped out the floor door and closed it behind. He slowly pushed the key into the lock. It almost seemed too quick. For all the years that he spent in this house to be closed with a simple turn of the key. Hearing the click of the lock, he pulled the key out and left the house for the last time.


	2. Chapter 2

Battler woke to a pinching pain in the back of his neck. His eyes opened slowly even though the desire to sleep still took hold, but his neck ached from sleeping with his head elevated in such a manner; the couch in the living room wasn't the best place to lie in for the entire night. He threw the blankets off of his body grudgingly, the light of day making its way from behind the blinds. He could barely make out the screen door that was hidden behind the curtains, which led to a small exterior balcony. The view wasn't great since the apartment was surrounded by other large buildings, even though it was three stories high. , There was no empty plot of land to look at in the bustling city except for the park. "Morning Auntie."

Rosa had emerged from her room, clad in pink pajamas that, despite all logic, were still embroidered with the one winged eagle, the crest of their family. He shrugged it off, considering how he had been forced to get the damn things onto his clothes as well when his family took him back in. The thought, though, caused him to wince. Memories of his father's urging to indulge in the pride of the Ushiromiya, and Kyrie—ever calm Kyrie—quietly urging him not with words like Rudolf but with a simple look. He didn't sob, though. He had to remain strong. He had to show his pride as an Ushiromiya for once, and prove himself to be worthy of his life. The life that was given to him by his family's sacrifice.

"Morning…." Rosa moved into the kitchen, blank eyes watching the coffee pot in anticipation of the liquid that some called ambrosia to be completed. Battler laughed lightly earning a small glare from the owner of this small abode. "Ugh…why are you up so early."

"It's eight, Auntie. "

"Right, right."

"Not a morning person?" Battler asked, walking towards the small set of cabinets and appliances that constituted the kitchen in this apartment. He froze. A shot of pain made its way through his system; his shin had slammed into the low table. The hiss of pain that escaped his lips only made Rosa snort in amusement.

"Just tired." Rosa poured some of the coffee into two waiting porcelain cups before quietly offering one to the young man. She noted idly that his night clothes were plain and seemed to lack any sign of the Ushiromiya crest. Battler took the offered cup, but not before noticing her aunt's questioning stare at his clothing.

"H-hey, what's with that look?"

"Where's your crest?"

"The crest is, well…."

"Yes?"

"These were from when I lived with my grandparents."

"Ah, I see," Rosa said blankly, her eyes staring at Battler emotionlessly.

Battler hid his face behind the cup of coffee, sipping it loudly. His gaze never remaining on Rosa for too long, in fear of the evil eye that she was giving him. "Um…so when do you go back to work?"

"Not for a bit. The police wants to hold off on announcing the murders to the press, and we have to take care of some of the other messes that are around." Rosa rubbed her forehead. Plans for the future were never her strength; her siblings seemed to have it in spades, but now, she had inherited debts from one of them. The one that had forced the rest to gang up on him was actually in the worst financial position. He had debts that were beyond belief, all of which had been wasted on hair brained schemes that even Kinzo would have found ridiculous. It was infuriating to know that her sibling who had everything that she—no, that all of her siblings wanted—turned out to be biggest failure of them all. Of course, what did that make them?

"Messes?"

"Your uncle, Krauss, managed to bungle the family fortune. Blew it all on stupid ideas that led him deeper and deeper into debt. He was getting loans to further his schemes, but they only brought him deeper into debt. If he kept going, well…"

Battler stood in shock; his jaw working uselessly while his brain sought out words to say. It was nothing if not a bit eye opening to see Rosa in such a rage-induced state. Well, without Maria around.

"Don't think too much on it, Battler. Worry about your own future, not the mistakes of your family members. Former family members." The bitter taste of the coffee matched her feelings far too well. She had proven herself no better than Krauss in any regard. She had got caught up funding another person's dream because she loved him, but in the end, the only thing that she gained from it was a daughter. A daughter who could only remind her of her failures, rather than the joy she could bring or did bring.

"That's going a bit too far, Auntie." Battler frowned. He didn't like how she called them former family members, as if they had become something inhuman or unrelated now that they were gone.

Rosa stared down at her dwindling cup of coffee and sighed. Her shoulders seemed to sag a bit. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Eh? What happened to all that strength from yesterday?"

Rosa looked Battler in the eye and said, "Ask me again later."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It would be horrid to say that Rosa never ate with Maria, because she did, but those times were few and far in-between. So having Maria, Battler, and Ange at the table proved to be awkward experience for the single mother. Ange seemed to be glaring at her off and on, as if accusing her of some unnamed crime, and then going back to eating small bits of her breakfast. Battler tried to keep both Maria and Ange preoccupied with off hand jokes. Fortunately for Rosa, neither of them really got it. Unfortunately for Battler, she would have a long talk later with him about those jokes.

"So….Ange, how did you sleep?" Rosa smiled over at Ange, the coffee from earlier refreshing her, and the food that she just ate furthering that. Battler had already changed into his customary suit, adorned with the crest of the Ushiromiya family, while Rosa had changed into a more casual dress than what he had seen at the family conference. It was still primarily made up of red and black.

"Fine…" Rosa twitched at her tone. Ange ignored the elder woman's probing glare, instead choosing to focus all her attention on the cereal in front of her. Maria seemed oblivious to the exchange. She was merely content to be eating with her mother and her best friend.

"Hey, hey, there's no reason to get mad, Ange. It's just a question. Besides she saved us, remember?" Battler tried to calm her down, though his words only seemed to infuriate her.

"Then why didn't she save mom and dad?" Ange slammed her fork into the wooden table, the metal teeth grinding into the wood as though daggers into flesh. "If she managed to save you…why couldn't she…"

"Ange…" Battler frowned as he looked helplessly at his little sister. He knew there was nothing that Rosa could have done; he had to make her see the truth for herself. "It wasn't like the murderer was doing it out in the open. Rosa did the best she could. The fact that we survived at all…."

"That's—"

"Just eat." Rosa's voice cut through the argument that Ange was having. Maria looked up at Rosa with no small amount of fear—or perhaps hatred—in her eyes. Rosa herself stared coldly at Ange. It was an expression that even Battler was familiar with. It could only be described as something as cold as a tundra. It spoke volumes about her displeasure with Ange.

"Eh…calm down, Auntie." Battler motioned towards her fist, which was clenched above the table. "It's been a long couple of days for us so why don't we just relax. Look, Ange and Maria can eat in their room."

"That…"

"You can make an exception just this once, right?"

"I... alright."

"Come on, Rosa needs some time alone." Battler ushered the girls out of the room as they gathered their meals. "Let's hurry."

Rosa sighed as she watched them go, feeling a sense of failure wash over her. She didn't want this kind of thing at all. She thought that by taking them in, she might be able to make up for her past mistakes. After she had saved her daughter and her nephew, things seemed to be going right for once in her life. She had what she wanted from the family conference. More even, but the cost was a lot to bear. Even though she was never close to her siblings or her father, she felt sadness at their passing which actually surprised her. More than once, she had wished for their deaths. Nevertheless, she thought that everything would start to fall into place for her. Instead, her failings as a mother were starting to extend to the point that another child was acting more like a parent than her. "I really screwed up…"

"Nah, you did pretty well." An audible pop sounded from Rosa's head twisting around to see Battler returning to his seat, his expression becoming somber. "Ange is just stressed. I guess that it was too much to hope that the crying she did yesterday was the end of it. Ha…. I'm still naïve."

"And here I was thinking that things would work out so much better now."

"Well, at least you weren't the only one. You don't mind if I eat here, do you?"

Rosa smiled weakly at him, her hand moving to rub her forehead wearily. The beginnings of a headache were making itself known to her, or perhaps it was already there for some time and she was just now noticing it. She didn't know, nor did she care. "Of course not. Are you really sure you don't want to join them?"

"Nah, I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. Too much energy."

"You certainly seem to have plenty of energy."

"W-what? That kind of thing…."

"Just how are you interpreting that?" Despite her annoyed tone, Rosa smiled softly as she spoke with Battler.

Battler laughed nervously as he heard that. His own tone turning weak as he said, "Oh, this is going to be one of those things that comes back at the worst moments, isn't it?"

"Depends on if I tell anyone." Rosa attempted to hide her smile by drinking some of the water before her. Battler glared weakly at her, though his real emotions were being betrayed by the twitching of his lips, as if he was having trouble holding a smile in. "I don't know, Battler, maybe you will have fond memories of this moment. It might just be one of the least embarrassing things you ever say."

"…please don't jinx me like that. I have enough problems controlling my mouth as it is." Battler tore into the last bits of his food. Perhaps the conversation that he was having took his mind off of the darker matters that he knew still lurked somewhere in the back of his mind.

"Oh, don't worry. I rather enjoyed it." Battler's face became one of mock despair before he excused himself, stating that he had eaten his fill.

Rosa chuckled as she watched him depart. "Maybe this won't be so bad."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Uuu, time to wake up." Maria pulled on Ange's arm as the younger girl stayed still on the bed. The room itself was rather plain. There was not much in terms of decoration on its white walls, except for a few pin-ups of binder paper; these make-shift posters had drawings of magic circles on them. There was a twin-sized pink bed with a tall bookshelf to the side of it, stacked with a series of toys instead of books. On the desk were two plates, one that had been scraped clean of food while the other still had piles of it, even though it had long gone cold and stale.

"I'm sleeping." The words were dull and hollow, even to Ange's own ears. However, she refused to move, keeping her eyes closed in the hopes that Maria would just go away.

"Get up, get up!" Maria tugged harder. She was never a strong girl, but her weakness never seemed so apparent now than ever before. She managed to pull her up to an almost sitting position, but the moment that she released her grip, Ange fell back onto the bed like a doll with its strings cut. Maria stomped the ground in frustration. "Uuu! Eat and play with me!"

Ange rolled over so that her back was facing Maria. She didn't want to even look at Maria, though this wasn't out of malicious. The tears that flowed down her cheeks were the evidence of how strong she was; of how she was able to hold it back during breakfast.

"Uuu-uuu? Hurts?"

Ange didn't respond, but her uncontrollable shivering made the answer all too apparent. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly, as if trying to stop the tears from flowing. It was a futile effort, but that fact only made her try harder.

Maria walked around to the other side of the bed so that she could face Ange, but the younger girl rolled over to face the other way. "Ange sad?"

Ange bit her lips. Why couldn't Maria leave her alone?

"Kihihihihihi." The abrupt and strange laughter startled Ange, making her turn her tear-stained face to look at the source.

"Maria?"

"Kihihi, I know why you're sad, but you shouldn't be. They're in a better place. The Golden Land."

"What is that…?"

"It's a place where everyone is alive and happy."

"Even mommy and daddy?"

Maria smiled, but it seemed like a much creepier expression than normal to Ange. "Even them."

"Can we go there with everyone?"

Maria's smile faltered. It was something that was impossible, but there had to be a way. She couldn't accept the fact that she denied entrance to the Golden Land. "Yes, we can."

"How?"

"By finding Beatrice on the island of Rokkenjima."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Yes? You are interested? Really? Oh, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I don't know if it is authentic, but it was one of the many items that Kinzo had collected." Rosa's voice wavered in and out as Battler sat comfortably on the couch. "Of course, I have more for sale. It will be a pleasure doing business with you."

"So you got a taker? That fast?" Battler rolled his head to look at Rosa as she scribbled some notes on a small sheet of paper.

"Nope, I got someone to set up an auction for some of Kinzo's more…eccentric items. It's someone that while I haven't worked with before, I have heard of them before from some co-workers. They are more expensive, but they will take care of the advertising for us. Apparently, Kinzo's collection was quite coveted." Rosa smiled widely. It was without a doubt, greed that was driving her mood, but she didn't care. In this moment alone, she had a chance of making something with her life. She wouldn't be haunted any more by that debt of hers that had followed her around for a good portion of her working life.

"Ah, you mean the items from Kinzo's study, right?"

"Yes, as well as those in the other mansion."

"…Do you think that'll be enough?"

"Didn't I tell you to stop worrying and put your faith in me? There are also funeral arrangements, but that can wait till after the police decide to go public…" Rosa's temporary high at the victory that was almost in her grasp came crashing down. The police investigation and the funeral were two things they wanted to avoid. While not exactly a famous family in the public eye, having several successful family members and servants alone would be enough to draw the media's eye to what happened. The fact that they were also a supposedly wealthy family only made it a tastier morsel.

"That's going to be hard on Ange…" Battler straightened his posture as he thought of the girl in the other room. He felt a hand come down onto his shoulder and looked up to see Rosa's face looking softly down at him.

"You don't have to pretend."

"I'm not…" Battler shrugged off her hand, his own sense of shame filling his body with unpleasant thoughts, even as he rose. He couldn't help but feel that she was looking down on him in more than just the physical sense. No matter how rationally he tried to deny it, it was an irritating feeling that kept coming back like an itch he couldn't scratch. "I'm not pretending. I can…no, I need to be there for Ange."

"Bat—"

"I ended up screwing up with her and the rest of my family due to a petty grudge, I won't—"

"Isn't that what you are doing now!" Rosa seemed incensed. Her fists were clutched at her sides, the knuckles turning white. Blind fury was etched onto her face, but just this once, she managed to control herself. She held no small amount of envy for Battler. His father turned out to be a bit of a bastard, but he could escape from it for a time; her father had always been a bastard and she had to deal with that every day, even after she had stopped living with them. "Just…give up Battler. This isn't a contest, or a game. We made mistakes. I'm sad about my siblings dying, but…"

"No, you aren't." Battler frowned at her remark. He wasn't the most perceptive, but even he saw how the family meeting went, and how the siblings treated each other. Sad about them dying? Lies. She couldn't be more obvious. He didn't even want to humor her lies.

Rosa glared at him in turn. She knew that she had said something wrong, but that damn bastard had the gall to say something like that to her. It was without a doubt a slap in the face to her. She should have expected this. "I'm going to go head down to the police station. We'll continue our talk when I get back."

Battler nodded numbly, the anger and rage that he had felt fueling him earlier slowly drained out of his system. He could do little but watch as she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Battler walked silently around the small park; his hands in his pockets. He knew he was sulking, his earlier argument with Rosa bouncing around in his head. It was the beginning of a headache that was starting to annoy him. The thoughts he had seemed to be scratching at his brain, creating an irritation that would soon begin to throb. Rubbing his head slowly, Battler turned around to walk back to a bench he had passed a couple of seconds ago.

Put plainly, he couldn't let things stand as they were with Rosa. He spoke without thinking. His mouth, as always, moving faster than his brain could and now, he was alienating the person who was taking care of both him and his little sister. It all came down to a simple fact that he couldn't admit.

She was right.

She probably thought he was blind and deaf, or at least too caught up with his own arrogance for him to notice how the family acted. He conceded that any animosity that had existed during the boat ride would have been missed. He also couldn't lie and say that the other parents didn't even have some animosity towards him. It didn't surprise him, given the pride the family had.

It had been unsettling being there. He wondered if, underneath it all, his cousins didn't resent him as well on some level. That they would end up exactly the same as their parents if it weren't for everything that had happened. That they would end up embittered enemies, hiding any mistake that would endanger their portion of the family inheritance.

Whatever had motivated her to adopt Ange and him, he couldn't say. Perhaps it was a whim, or perhaps she had felt some sadness at the death of her family even though it was covered in layers of animosity. He couldn't really say.

He didn't want to lose Ange. He would be lying if he said he didn't care about Rosa or Maria, but Ange was the only one of his family that he had any real connection to anymore.

"What am I going to do?" Battler leaned back, his head resting on the back of the bench. He knew he had to do something to set things right, he didn't know what, though. For now, he could only return and try to patch up the already frayed bonds that they had.


	3. Chapter 3

Rosa never considered herself the most considerate of people. Her family would probably have disagreed, but then, she never could act out of turn with them. She was too weak and far too late to act against them. So, she feared them and thus clung to others to get passed them. In the past, even in the lead up to the last family conference, she had clung naively to her fading love for Maria's father, hoping that at some point, he would come back for her. Even when she ran out of hope, she sought out a rich person to cling to who could "save" her from her problems.

And now she took in two more "problems."

Shaking her head at her own stupidity, Rosa stepped loudly as she began her walk back to the apartment again. The sound her heels made against the concrete, however, did not quite satisfy her simmering ire. It was childish, she knew, but it was necessary to vent her frustration; she needed to be calm, collected, and ready when she got back.

She was going to be a good mother for Maria. The kind that she always promised herself to one day be. She had to. It wasn't just for her now. However she didn't need to worry about getting someone to take care of them. She had money now. Or at least, she will inherit her father's riches soon enough. She could hire someone who could be there when she wasn't. It was going to work out.

Except, she knew that things wouldn't be so easy, that things just might fall apart at the seams and she might just end up losing even more.

"That little bastard." She grumbled out. His comments had only been made more aggravating by the fact that he was basically right. She didn't feel anything when her siblings, in-laws or even her father had all died. Well, maybe a little bit. However, she never wished for their deaths. Actually, that might not be entirely true, but even at her worst, though, she didn't want Jessica or the servants involved in this mess.

They should have never gotten involved in the games that the Ushiromiya family played against each other. It had gotten them all into situations where they became the victims. Battler didn't know how disgusting the rest of the family could be. Krauss' pride in his blood, Eva's envy of that blood, and Rudolf's debauchery. These were all things that each of the siblings knew as fact about the others. They all knew how disgusting the others were.

She knew Battler resented Rudolf on some level. That was why he had left the family after all. Now he was back, and she wasn't going to let him walk off like that again. She was going to take care of things. "Right. I'm going to have to start packing too."

She couldn't help but grumble to herself about the preparations that were going to take. Not to mention the worries about finding a place where the commute to her work wouldn't be so bad. Still thinking about these small worries, Rosa continued on her way to her home. To where her family was.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Uuu~ Battler angry?" Maria asked, her hands clasped behind her back as she tilted her upper body to the left.

"No, Maria, I'm not angry." Battler sighed tiredly. When he had entered Maria's bedroom, he had been belted by multiple stuffed animals and pieces of candy, courtesy of the room's owner and Ange. It was mildly painful, but it was…childish. It was something normal, something that he felt was sorely lacking in this house at the moment. He didn't want to say it, but it had cheered him up.

Maria had always struck him as being happier than Ange, but lately, that joy seemed like it was leaking into Ange as well.

Maybe he was being too quick to conclude that. Still, he wanted it to be true. Seeing Ange, smiling and giggling with Maria, brought a smile to his face. He squatted down so he was eye-level with the two girls and rested his hands on his knees.

"You guys want to wait a bit for Rosa to come back, or I should go look for her?"

Maria looked curiously at him. "Uuu~ Mama gone?"

"Ah." Battler paused as he realized that they hadn't noticed. He slapped his forehead. This was something he should have already figured out. How would they know if they were stuck in this bedroom the whole time? "She went out early for a walk."

"Uuu, trusts mama. Wait."

"Ange?" He turned his head to look over at her. He seemed filled with hope as he looked at her. He was not disappointed when he noticed the small smile on her face as she nodded her head enthusiastically. "Well, let's make sure we're all ready to go when she gets back, okay?"

"Why?" This time, it was Ange who voiced the question.

Battler smirked and ruffled the girls' hairs playfully despite their giggling protest. "Because we're going out to eat and we can't have you two looking like this."

"Uuu~ Battler's fault!" The girls freed themselves from his hands, their hair wildly arranged in every direction even as they kept their joyful smiles.

Battler wagged a finger at them. "You have no proof."

Ange pointed to her hair. "But I saw you do it, big brother."

Battler grinned and shook his head. "You're the victims. You could just be saying that when you actually did it yourself."

"But I know you did it! Maria and I know you did."

"But would Rosa believe you instead of me?" Battler dramatically placed the back of his hand against his forehead, as if he were checking for a fever. "Oh, auntie would be so displeased that she raised two bad liars."

Maria shook her head quickly. "Uuu, mama believes me."

Battler raised his index finger. "Ah ha, but you forget one thing."

"Uuu?"

"I'm older." Battler laughed as the two blankly stared at him. The girls exchanged a simple glance between them before both nodded their heads. As one, they charged Battler, collapsing on top of him as they began a merciless tickling campaign.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As he left the room, Battler couldn't help but smile at the change in Ange's demeanor. If it was because of Maria, well, Battler feared what might happen if Rosa returned and Maria started saying those strange things about magic.

"Uuu~ Battler sad?"

Even with the ever-present vocal tick that gave away Maria's voice, he couldn't help but jump at the sound. Holding a hand over his chest, he sighed wearily. "No, no. I'm just a little worried is all."

Maria only nodded in response. Battler smiled down at her. She had done so much for him, cheering up Ange like that, no need to make her worry about him as well. "You are a miracle worker, Maria. I don't know how you got Ange cheered up, but…thank you."

"Magic."

Battler laughed as he ran his hands through her hair. He didn't think much of Maria's hobbies or obsessions, but this was proven to be a problem back on Rokkenjima. However, he had his own issues to attend to, and he didn't want to press on someone who had welcomed them warmly into her home.

He was already doing that to the other person who was helping him.

"I'm home." Battler and Maria turned as one to the door to the apartment complex. Rosa had arrived none too soon, well in his case. He was getting rather hungry after all.

"Welcome back." Battler and Maria chimed in, the timing of their responses only off by a second.

"Oh, I see you two are getting along well." Rosa smiled at them. The smile seemed stressed, but it was less so than before. "I certainly hope that Battler hasn't been rubbing off too much on you, Maria."

"Rubbing off?"

"H-hey, I'm not that bad, am I?" Battler frowned, as he looked frantically between Rosa and Maria. His frowned deepened when he heard Rosa chuckle lightly.

"Relax, will you?" It was as though some unseen signal had been tossed out. They had chosen to ignore what had happened before, for now. Or perhaps, it was just while Ange and Maria were around. Battler knew he would find out sooner rather than later. "So what are you two getting ready for?"

"Lunch." Ange popped out of Maria and Ange's temporary shared room. Her eyes darted up to the woman who stood imposingly in the doorway as she hid behind her brother.

"I see. Well, I do know a nice place we can go out to eat. Just try not to spend too much, will you?" Still, Rosa smiled down at the two girls. Ange peaked out from behind Battler, one of her hands bunching up her pink dress as she stared up at her. "I see the mood has improved here overall. You did all this to impress me?"

"Nope." Seeing Rosa's face suddenly turn sour, Battler smiled and put a hand on Maria's shoulder. "Maria did all the work."

"I see…thank you, Maria." Rosa gave her a warm smile, as she knelt by her. "Now then, who's up for lunch?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was a small restaurant, and rather empty at this time of day. It had, however, simple, cheap and filling food. Something that Rosa had grown somewhat appreciative of, when she used to come here with Maria. As infrequent as those times were, she still valued them.

"Oh…this looks good." Battler, matching her earlier description, poured over the menu with gusto with a childlike smile planted on his face. It struck her then, despite Rudolf's proud claims of Battler being popular with women, that maybe he was still just a kid. "Or maybe, this? What do you think, Ange?"

Pointing at a menu item, Ange smiled and responded enthusiastically. She repeated the question to Maria who cheerfully chirped out the same response, solidifying Battler's resolve to get that item. Until he saw something else that caught his eye, and the process repeated itself.

"You certainly seem cheerful, Ange." This had bothered Rosa all throughout the walk to the diner. She was happy. It wasn't just that she was in a slightly better mood; no, she was actually genuinely happy. It was off. She simply didn't have the cunning to fake her mood so completely. "Did something good happen today?"

Ange hesitantly nodded. "Maria cheered me up."

"I see." It was a non-answer. She could tell there was more to it than that, but the aggravation she would get from Ange clamping up again was not worth it. "So, Battler, where were you when Maria was cheering up Ange?"

"I was…" Battler looked around nervously. A smile appeared on Rosa's lips as she watched him. Shooting a small glare at her, which only made her smile wider, he huffed childishly. "So, what news do you have for us?"

"Well, we will be moving soon. We need a bigger home, unless you want to continue sleeping on the couch." Battler sighed as his expression turned to one of frustration. "Relax, Battler. We will be moving before they start up school again. I am thinking of moving closer to where your family used to live. I don't want Ange to have to worry about losing her friends over this as well."

"What about Maria?" Battler reached over and patted Maria on the head. His mouth curved downward as he stared at Rosa in displeasure. "I'm sure she has some friends that she is leaving behind as well."

Rosa grimaced as he said this, her hands clenched into fists. Even now, she was humiliating her. Even now, her own daughter was making her look pathetic, because she couldn't take care of herself, deal with her own problems.

"Whoa, calm down, Rosa." Battler raised his hands up as a sign of surrender. "I was just trying to be considerate of Maria. No need to get angry."

"Uuu, do have friends." Maria spread out her arms wide to emphasize her point. "Lots and lots of friends."

"Toys are not friends!" Rosa slammed her hands on the table to emphasize her point, standing up as if to tower over the others. However, it was at this point that she noticed that the other customers in the restaurant were staring at her. Humiliation swept over her, a bitter wave that she did her best to repress as she slowly sat down. In a voice that she tried to sound calm with, she asked, "Can we just order now?"

The rest of their time in the restaurant was spent in an uncomfortable silence.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Battler idly noted that it was a crescent moon tonight. Squinting his eyes, he could barely make out the tiny stars that dotted the night. The light from the city polluted the darkened sky which made it especially difficult to see an unfiltered view. Even at his grandparents and his father's houses, the view of the stars had been obscure as those places were located in or near cities. He had once hoped, when he had gone to Rokkenjima, to watch the stars on that relatively deserted island, though that had been impossible when the storm started. Once, these covered skies had seemed like normality. A common part of his life.

Now, they just seemed foreboding. He reached out, as if to break through and grasp a piece of that life he left behind. Long ago, his mother had told him that those that died became stars, watching everlastingly over them. But could they see him under this artificial cover? Yet, the question that bothered him the most was: can he see them? Even if it was only an outline of his parents made by connecting stars, he still wanted to see them. One last time.

"Battler, are you coming?" He lowered his hand and eyes to see Rosa, Maria, and Ange staring back at him with curiosity. A melancholic smile flowed onto his lips.

"Yeah, just watching the stars. Wait up!" Battler jogged up to the trio, bending down to wrap an arm around Maria and Ange's shoulders, to the children's surprise and delight.

Rosa raised an eyebrow at his sudden change of mood. "Are you okay?"

"Do you want ice cream?" Battler pulled the two girls closer to him, crushing them in a bear hug as they giggled and nodded enthusiastically. Feeling their response, he pointed forward. "Then let's go. There's a store up ahead."

"Wait, they shouldn't eat sweets at night…" Rosa had reached out a hand, but she slowly let it drop. The children were already far ahead; Battler was pretending to race with all his might while the two girls followed behind, struggling between running and laughing at the same time. She shook her head and let a sigh in exasperation even as a smile came to her. Briefly, she looked up and wondered what stars Battler saw in the blank night sky.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Battler groaned as he leaned forward from the couch. His scalp ached from the trials of the day. Having Ange practically pull out his hair as he held her up on his shoulders, and then Maria doing practically the same thing later. "Ugh…between their death grips and their energy, I'm going to go bald before I'm twenty."

"You shouldn't have let them eat ice cream then." Rosa stared blankly at the ceiling. She turned to look at Battler in a lazy fashion, her head never lifting off the couch. "I thought you were young and full of energy."

"I told you that they had way too much energy for me, but I guess it was my fault." Battler rubbed his forehead and winced. "I can't wait till they get back to school."

Rosa merely frowned. . "I don't. Maria….well, you saw how she acted. Being around Ange helps, but when she goes back to school..."

"She'll be fine," Battler said in the most reassuring voice he could muster. "Besides, I'm here, aren't I? If she's in trouble, I'll just have to teach her how to get out of trouble."

Rosa simply chuckled. Lifting herself off the couch, she started walking towards the kitchen. "You said Maria helped cheer Ange up?"

Battler gave a quick nod. "Yeah, when I was out wandering around."

Rosa smirked at his words as she entered the kitchen and opened a cabinet. "Sulking, you mean?"

Battler turned his head to watch her rummage around the kitchen, though he didn't know what she was looking for. "Anyways, I came back and she seemed a lot happier. Is something bothering you?"

"No, it's nothing you need to worry about right now." Rosa pulled a large bottle of wine out of one of the cabinets. Her expression turned thoughtful as she looked at it. "Join me for a drink?"

"Eh, not that I'm complaining, but isn't that a bit…"

"Don't be such a bore, Battler." Rosa was already walking back into the living room with two cups and the bottle. Not even waiting for Battler to respond, she handed him a glass, and pulled the cork out of the bottle. "It's good to relax every once in awhile."

"Still…"

"I was saving this for a special occasion." Rosa glanced almost fondly at the wine bottle, the glasses filled. Placing the bottle down, she downed the wine she had poured for herself in one gulp. "And I suppose there is no greater reason for celebration than being alive."

"O-oh."

"Relax." Rosa chuckled lightly as he grimaced at the biting taste of the wine. "Too much for you?"

"No, no." He quickly reached out for his glass.

"Good." She stated simply as she poured herself another glass, then more for Battler. "It would be a shame to waste it like this."

"What do you mean?" Battler drained more of the bitter fluid, his expression going sour for a moment before he forced it back to neutrality. Rosa turned and smiled at him. "I mean...well, you said this was a celebration, right?"

"You obviously don't have good taste in wine." Rosa nodded to herself. Despite her condescending words, her teasing smile never quite left her face. She drained her glass of wine as if to punctuate her statement. "I'm not even drinking it properly."

"O-Okay." Battler swallowed the remaining wine in his glass. His expression went flat as he tried to keep himself from grimacing at the taste. The obviously unnatural expression on his face only served to amuse Rosa as she watched him attempt to don a stoic façade.

"You don't have to hide it." Rosa chuckled again. A momentary lapse before her expression changed to one much more serious as she sipped at the wine. "This is from a good year, but maybe it would taste better on a happier occasion…"

Seeing Rosa's gaze stuck on the side of the bottle, her mouth moving between a small smile that almost seemed soft and a pained frown, Battler went in to a panic, his mind looking for any possible way to distract her. His eyes turned down to his cup. He didn't want to drink it anymore, but maybe if he drank it quickly, it would only have to deal with the taste for a few moments. He downed the rest of his wine in one gulp; surprisingly, he didn't wince at all as the bitter taste was much weaker than before. "I think I am developing a taste for it."

Rosa blinked before she smiled lopsidedly at him, distracted out of her thoughts. Before Battler could protest, she picked up the bottle and poured him another full glass. He gulped as he slowly took up his glass. "I prefer the harder liquors, but it isn't exactly attractive for a woman to be seen drinking those. But I would never drink the kind that father kept. That stuff will kill you. You probably smelled it when we broke into his study."

Battler's expression turned to something approaching horror and disgust at the thought of Kinzo's drink, though he couldn't say that the glass in his hand didn't have a part in that. "That smelled horrible. I swear that one drink of that stuff and I would be saying see you later to someone on my death bed."

Rosa laughed as she looked at him. "Only one? Kinzo was a heavy drinker. He only ever drank that overly sweet concoction. I even heard that Genji was told to add even more sugar to it."

Battler winced. The mere thought of the source of that overly sweet smell causing him to wince. It wasn't something he thought he would be able to drink in normal circumstances. As Rosa's laugh and the continuing conversations filled the night air, they knew it would be some time before they would sleep that night.


End file.
